


Rot

by LiterallyThePresident



Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Aliens, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Possessive Behavior, Space Madness, guess who played Dead Space and Resident Evil 7 back to back, twas I
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 15:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18285494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident
Summary: Jacobi goes on a mission alone.Kepler recieves a distress call a week later.





	1. Distress Call

“ _Mayday_ , _Mayday_ , _this_ _is_ _the_ _USS_ _Mykonos_ _requesting_ _immediate_ _assistance_. _Our_ _vessel_ _encountered_ _an_ _unknown_ _life_ _form_ , _we_ _were_ _unable_ _to_ _contain_ _it_. _It’s_ _loose_ _and_ _we_ _can’t_ _stop_   _it_. _The_ _growths_ _she_ _creates_ _seems_ _to_ _cause_ _some_ _kind_ _of_ _neural_ _decay_ _that_ -“

Click

Fast forward

“- _repeat_ , _this_ _is_ _Officer_ _Estrada_ _of_ _the_ _USS_ _Mykonos_ _requesting_ _immediate_ _assistance_. _The_ _rest_ _of_ _the_ _crew_ _is_ _either_ _dead_ _or_ _missing_ , _I_ _may_ _be_ _the_ _only_ _one_ _left_ -“

Click

Fast forward

“- _can_ _feel_ _her_ _in_ _my_ _head_. _Even_ _now_. _It_... _It_ _pulses_. _And_ _sings_. _It_ _wants_ _me_ _to_... _to_ _be_... _no_ , _no_ , _why_ _am_ _I_... _I_ _need_ _to_... _I_ _need_ _to_ _think_ , _I_ _need_... _M_ - _Mayday_ , _Mayday_... _this_ _is_ _Officer_ -“

Click

Next message

“ _Colonel_.” and there he was. Even after listening to the message countless times, Kepler’s heart still clenched uncomfortably at Jacobi’s exhausted voice, the pale sheen of his face and haunted eyes, “ _I_ _really_ _really_ _hope_ _this_ _gets_ _to_ _you_ _with_   _the_ _comms_ _damage_. _You_ _were_ _right_ , _sending_ _me_ _up_ _here_ _alone_ _was_ _a_ _mistake_. _I_ _don’t_ _know_ _what’s_ _happening_ _here_ , _but_ _I’m_... _I’m_ _kinda_ _freaking_ _out_ _here_ , _Colonel_.”

A blood vessel burst in Jacobi’s left eye, dying the white sclera red. He didn’t seem to notice.

“ _Ever_ _since_ _we_ _picked_ _up_ _that_ _damned_ _escape_ pod. _That_ _girl_. _There’s_ _this_... _voice_. _Or_ _hum_? _I_ _know_ _it’s_ _her_. _It’s_... _It’s_ _loud_. _And_ _beautiful_. _And_ _terrifying_. _It_ _made_ _the_ _others_ _something_... _I_ _dunno_ , _snap_. _They_ _went_ _nuts_. _One_ _at_ _a_ _time_. I _know_ _that_ _I’m_ _next_ , _Colonel_ , _I_ _can_ _feel_ _myself_ _slipping_ , _no_ _matter_ _how_ _I_ _try_. _She_ _tells_ _me_ _that_ _I’m_ _hers_ , _that_ _I_... _belong_ _to_ _her_. _It’s_ _too_ _late_ _for_ _me_ , _and_ _this_... _this_ _thing_ _has_ _me_. _If_ _you_ _get_ _this_ ,” his face twisted with some sick mixture of grief and fear that should _never_ be on Jacobi’s face, “ _ **stay**_ _**away**_.”

“Not happening.” Kepler muttered as the video message ended, glancing outside at the stars passing by. He’d received the message days ago, and taken it to Cutter immediately. The ship Jacobi had been temporarily assigned to had apparently picked up a drifting escape pod that contained a single seemingly human child, and soon afterwards lost all communication with Earth. He thanked every god there was that Cutter’s curiosity outweighed his sadism enough to send Kepler up alone to retrieve the ship and the mysteries within it. His orders were to retrieve a sample, assess the situation, lure the girl to Earth if possible, rescue the crew if possible. But only if doing so wouldn’t compromise the sample. Kepler had agreed to the conditions, knowing he was the only one who would really make an effort to save Jacobi.

“Bring him back.” Maxwell had whispered to him, furious that she was forbidden from accompanying him, “You bring him back to me or so help me, Colonel-“ He’d cut her off with a stiff reassurance, prying her fingers from his arm with a promise to find and retrieve their teammate no matter the cost. He told himself his laser focus was on the mission, that the now constant weight in his stomach was fear of failing Cutter. But even he wasn’t fooling himself. Deep down, he knew the real reason his thoughts kept spiraling back to his lost ballistics expert, why his breath had caught at the shakiness of his hands and the thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, the way his skin was ashen pale in the dim glow of the vessel’s emergency lights. The near desperation in his voice when he pleaded _stay_ _away_.

Cutter was a man that he feared. But Jacobi was a man that he... cared about. In the end, he had to believe that the more positive leaning would win out in the end. No way was he abandoning Jacobi. Not if he could save him.

His shuttle approached the derelict vessel, and his hails received no response. Disappointing, but not surprising. He overrode the vessel’s docking protocols easily, making sure it had air before stepping out of the airlock. Immediately he stepped in one of those growths the SOS had mentioned, and mentally thanked the stars he was wearing his protective suit. He ventured further into the vessel, stepping carefully and keeping his eyes peeled.

It was quiet. Far too quiet for a space ship.

He encountered his first human being ten minutes in. He didn’t get to say a word before the pale, hissing thing bolted into a nearby room and slammed the door. Kepler heard the lock click, but he didn’t care enough to try and break it. Finding Jacobi took priority. He kept moving. His next encounter was with a figure standing in the entryway to the engine room, their face buried in their hands. Kepler recognized him immediately.

“Jacobi!” he called, and the figure stiffened, turning to face him with agonizing slowness. His movements were stiff, his shoulders hunched almost protectively. He was crying.

“Colonel.” he looked like he could have collapsed with relief. He would have collapsed had Kepler not darted forward and caught him when his knees gave out. He clutched at Kepler with bloodied hands, the veins of them black and pulsating sickeningly. Kepler felt his chest clench, and he took a deep breath.

“What happened?” he asked, his tone clipped to hide his inner turmoil, “Jacobi, report.”

“You have to get out of here.” Jacobi rasped, “You can’t be here. You need to go, now.”

“We will.” Kepler assured him, “But we need a sample of the growth to take back to Cutter, or he won’t let us back planetside.”

“Yes.” Jacobi breathed, his voice growing light and breathy as the black veins seemed to advance slightly, “Yes, that’s a good idea. We should bring her to Earth. Show her...” He trailed off, and Kepler felt something like panic seize in his throat.

“Jacobi.” he growled, “Don’t conk out on my now. I need you at your best, do you understand me?”

“Colonel...”

“I understand that you’ve been through something terrible, but it’s time to straighten up and-“ Something plunged into his shoulder, cutting him off with a cry of surprise. He instinctively shoved Jacobi away from him, clutching at his shoulder and the pocket knife buried to the hilt within it. He grit his teeth against the pain and managed to speak.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he snarled at Jacobi, taking an involuntary step back as the man raised his head to look at him.

“You shouldn’t have come here.” Jacobi‘s voice was raspy, his eyes dark and bloodshot and filled with a hatred that made Kepler take an involuntary step back, “She doesn’t want you here.”

“Who the hell is _she_?” he demanded, reaching for his gun more on instinct than anything else, “Jacobi, I swear-“

Jacobi bolted. Kepler cursed.


	2. Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Jacobi here was kinda inspired by Krillin Plays lmao

It was more of a hunt than a search after that. Kepler stalked the halls of the ship with intent and purpose, collecting samples as he went and keeping an eye out for his wayward demolitions expert. His shoulder throbbed with pain, but he ignored it, his mind focused completely on the task at hand. He encountered the _Mykonos_ crew on occasion, but they were even more far gone than Jacobi, attacking him on sight and snarling about protecting their family. He was able to get away without killing them, though he idly wondered if death would perhaps be a mercy to them at this point. But he had his orders. It took him an hour to track Jacobi down in the derelict halls, and another ten minutes to pin the slippery bastard down. Kepler finally managed to shove him ungently against the wall, holding him firm and unyielding against the cool metal and leaning in close to his ear.

“Stop. Fighting. Me.” he growled lowly as Jacobi squirmed and kicked, “Mister Jacobi, you are not in your right mind. Calm down or I will sedate you. With my fist.”

“You don’t belong here!” Jacobi snapped, “Everything was perfect until you showed up! We were happy!”

“And who is we?” he asked with a forced calm, “You and the other brainwashed lunatics? You call creeping around a decaying spacecraft happy?”

“Yes! Go away! You’re not family, you can’t be here!” 

“Snap out of it, Jacobi! You’re better than this, stronger than this. Whatever is happening, we’ll figure it out once you _get_ _your_ _shit_ _together_ and fight this thing!”

“We can’t be together with a parasite! We can’t be whole if there’s a tear!”

“Pull yourself together!” he shook him slightly, “I will not tolerate losing a member of my team to a fucking mental break, alien or viral or whatever, I will not have it.” Jacobi tried to bite him, his struggles growing more desperate.

“I don’t belong to you!” he wailed, punching vainly at his arm, “I belong to her!”

“Who the hell is ‘her’?” Kepler demanded, “Answer me. Now.”

“Her! My sister, my-“ he stopped, going completely still, his eyes staring at something Kepler couldn’t see. Then he giggled. The giggles turned to laughter, and he covered his mouth to try and stifle them to no avail.

“What is so funny, Mister Jacobi?” Kepler grit out. Jacobi grinned at him, manic eyes glinting in the dim light.

“She’s angry.” he sang, “She’s so so angry. You should scurry away, creeping little interloper. The sun is coming.” Before Kepler could open his mouth the respond, all the lights went out. In the resulting darkness, Kepler kept his head enough to maintain his grip on Jacobi.

“Stay still.” he growled when the man still struggled, “I have my orders, Jacobi, I don’t want to have to-“ he cut off when a light turned on just to their left. And then another further down the hall. And then another. On and on until the end of the hall was illuminated, and Kepler finally saw the monster responsible for his predicament. It certainly _looked_ like a regular human girl, about age seven or eight. It was the little things that set his hairs on end. The black hair too stiff and shiny, skin gray as a corpse, fingers too long and too sharp for her hands, the pitch black eyes filled with a malice far too vast to be contained in such a small form. The child seemed to fill the room as the shadows closed in, and Jacobi greeted them like an old friend.

“Hey, little thing.” Jacobi murmured, all the fight seeming to leave him at the sight of her, “I found the rot.”

“I assume you’re the cause of all this.” Kepler ignored Jacobi, addressing the creature as calmly as he could. She growled, her sharp fingers flexing dangerously, but she didn’t move. Kepler continued, “My name is Colonel Warren Kepler. I received a distress call from this vessel and came to help. I’m here to take the crew home.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” she said, her voice soft but full of menace, “You’re a thief. You’re trying to steal my family.”

“I assume you mean the crew.” he said smoothly, “I’m afraid you’re mistaken. The crew of this ship is not your family, they’re simply some very unlucky people.” She seemed to tense up at that, her frame shaking slightly with anger.

“You don’t know anything.” she hissed, “You are a horrible monster, and you‘re hurting my brother.”

“Brother?” he blinked, and Jacobi hummed happily. Ah. She meant Jacobi. Weird, “Ah. Unfortunately, Jacobi is not your brother-“ he was cut off by the girl seeming to teleport. One moment she was at the end of the hall, and the next she was mere feet away. The mania in her eyes was far more acute up close, and Kepler began to suspect that he would be unable to negotiate his way out of this one.

“Go. Away.” she hissed, the shadows gathering around her like a shroud, “You are not wanted here. I have found my family and you will _not_ take that away from me.”

“I think you’ll find-“

“Go!” she snapped, visibly losing patience. Kepler straightened, refusing to flinch.

“What do you intend to do with them?” he asked, but her anger only seemed to intensify. A shadow whipped towards him, slicing open the skin of his bicep with a crack. Kepler just barely managed to refrain from crying out, gritting his teeth with a low sound of pain.

“Rude.” he gritted, “It was a simple question. What’s your angle? Your goal?”

“I just want a family!” the creature yelled, lashing out. Kepler dodged with a snort of disbelief.

“A _family_?” he asked incredulously, something that seemed to anger the creature, “That’s it? All this for a fake family?”

“They’re _my_ family, and you are _not_ allowed in!”

“I think you’ll find that there is very little you can do right now to stop me from completing my mission.” Kepler glared, determined to keep a clear head. He could freak out about this alien shit later, right now Jacobi needed him, since it was clear that the girl would not be salvageable.

Speaking of Jacobi...

“Big brother!” the creature shrieked, and Jacobi was yanking himself from his grasp and throwing himself between Kepler and the girl, eyes wild and hands shaking as he held a shard of metal up like a knife, uncaring of the edge cutting into his hands. The black veins lacing his skin seemed to have darkened, as if her rage was feeding into him.

“Get away from her.” he growled, his voice raspy and dark, “You won’t lay a fucking finger on her.”

“Jacobi, stand aside.” Kepler said as calmly as he could, ignoring the wild pounding of his heart, “Put the weapon down, and we can-“

“Stay away!” Jacobi lashed out when he came too close, “Just go away! Fuck off! We don’t want you here!”

“Daniel Jacobi, I am ordering you to stand down.” he commanded, “I am giving you until the count of three until I employ force.”

“Fuck you!” he snarled, his voice getting higher, like it always did when he was scared, “Don’t take another goddamn step!”

“Three.”

“Don’t think I won’t end you!”

“Two.”

“Fine! Fine, come at me, then!” Jacobi snarled, his eyes almost completely black, “Come on, motherfucker, it’s wabbit season!” Kepler snorted involuntarily at that, shaking his head.

“I know you, Mister Jacobi.” he said with a little smirk, “I know you try to be funny when you’re scared. You play all tough and witty but then as soon as the heat’s on, you’re screaming like a little girl.”

“Shut up!”

“Remember the incident with thag research lab and the swarm of spiders?” he continued, “How you cracked joke after joke, but the second they escaped you were using the flamethrower and shrieking like a little girl.”

“You think you can fucking get in my head?” Jacobi demanded, “Because news flash, asshole, you can’t say anything to me that I don’t say to myself every damned day!” The creature glared at Kepler from behind him, clutching at Jacobi’s waist.

“Big brother, I hate him.” she said, squeezing him, “Make him go away.”

“Trying, little thing.” he said, his voice going from venomous to gentle so fast it gave Kepler whiplash. He smiled up at him and nuzzled his hip, and Kepler felt a flare of possessive anger at the sight.

“Jacobi. Is. Mine.” he grit out, all calm evaporating, “Let him go. Now.”

“Never!” she hissed, “I have him now.”

“Well, I had him first.” he snapped, and then mentally groaned at letting himself be goaded in such a childish manner, “He is not your brother, he is an innocent man that you infected and warped, and I am not. Leaving. Without him.”

“You’re not leaving at all.” she growled, “You don’t _deserve_ to be my family. I don’t _need_ you. Big brother doesn’t need you either, because he’s happy here. He’s pretty and nice and he makes all the bad things go away, and that means he is home. That means he is mine.”

“I have had just about enough of you.” Kepler was admittedly unnerved by Jacobi’s silence, the way he just stared down at the creature with an expression of adoration. Of devotion. It made him sick. “One last chance. Let the people you’ve taken go, or I start hurting you.”

“No!” she shrieked with a stomp of her foot, “No no _no_ , big brother, _stop_ _him_!” Jacobi lunged as if yanked by marionette strings, teeth bared in a murderous snarl. Had he been in his right mind, he may have posed a threat. But he was clumsy and uncoordinated, swinging wildly and without strategy. It was too easy for Kepler to take him down, to slam his head against the floor exactly twice, just hard enough to knock him out. The creature shrieked with rage, the shadows seeming to close in on where he hunched over Jacobi’s prone form.

“Stop it! _Stop_ _it_! I won’t let you take away my family!” she screamed, and Kepler got an idea. He took a deep breath and met her sickly black eyes.

“Then keep them!” he yelled, and the creature paused, her head cocking in something like interest as the shadows slowed in their writhing.

“What?” she croaked. Kepler straightened, no longer crouching, but standing over Jacobi. Just in case.

“Keep the rest of the crew.” he said slowly, making his voice as smooth and clear as he could, “Just let me take Jacobi, and you can have the rest.”

“No. No, he’s mine!” she denied immediately, “ _My_ big brother! Mine!”

“My dear, you have two options.” his voice turned cold at her defiance, “Either you allow me to take Jacobi and leave you and your... family, in peace. Or, I torch this entire ship with everyone inside, including you and Jacobi.”

“You wouldn’t.” she hissed, “You wouldn’t!”

“I would.”

“You wouldn’t be trying to take him if you didn’t want him for yourself!” she accused, “So you won’t kill him because you want him!”

“If his choices are death and whatever this is, I know for a fact that he’d prefer death.” he said with complete and utter certainty, “So make your choice, little thing. I’m a patient man.” She snarled at him, pacing angrily and yanking at her viscous hair as she stewed.

“You’d sacrifice six human lives for just one?” she whirled on him, her eyes darting down to Jacobi’s slack face.

“For him? Yes.” he said without hesitation. She stared at him, unblinking, for several moments. He met her gaze, refusing to back down. Finally, she broke first.

“Fine.” she snarled, “Fine, fine! Take my precious big brother away from me, like the horrible monster you are!”

“You’ll let us leave. No tricks.” he said, not daring to let his guard down just yet, “I get Jacobi in my shuttle and fly away, and you never bother us or any other human again.”

“That’s-“

“All you get.” he said sternly, “Learn to be grateful for what you have. Don’t be greedy. You have six perfectly good victi... family members. You don’t need any more.”

“You’re horrible.” she sniffled, glaring balefully at him, “You’re horrible and I hate you.”

“You’d be surprised at how often I hear that. he said mildly, undeterred by her thick black tears, “Do we have a deal?” she snapped her teeth at him, and he repeated calmly, “Do. We have. A deal?”

“Fine.” she spat, stomping her foot, “Fine, steal my big brother you horrible, evil, ugly, stupid _monster_!” Kepler wisely refrained from commenting on who the real monster may be, electing instead to hoist Jacobi’s limp body into his arms with a curt nod the creature’s way.

“Enjoy your life.” he said mildly, and then he turned on his heel and walked confidently towards the shuttle. The pale, glaring faces of the _Mykonos_ crew watched them pass, none daring to make a move to stop them. Behind him, Kepler heard the sounds of the creature throwing another tantrum. Jacobi was unconscious in his arms, but already the black veins were beginning to recede.

It was time to get the Fuck out of there.


	3. End

Kepler put the shuttle on autopilot when they were finally a decent distance away, slipping out of the cockpit and towards the tiny living quarters where Jacobi lay tossing and turning on the little bed. His face was pale, his eyes squeezed shut with whatever visions haunted his dreams. He muttered quietly to himself, eyes moving back and forth rapidly under his eyelids. Kepler sat on the edge of the bed and just... watched him. Contemplating. Considering the man he’d thought he was going to lose. His shoulder ached. The effort of carrying Jacobi had not helped at all, but he ignored it. The sight of his right hand man laying safe and sound before him was worth the pain.

Something like this would _never_ happen again. Jacobi was never going on solo space missions again. Kepler would fight Cutter on that if he had to, but this would _never_ happen again. Jacobi shouting shattered the humming silence, pulling Kepler abruptly from his thoughts.

“Stop whispering!” he shouted, bolting upright and clutching his head, shaking it wildly, “Whatever is going on, I don’t need to be privy to it!”

“Jacobi.” Kepler said, calm and even. Steady.

“I am not a fan of this! So cut the shit or I swear to god I’ll cry!”

“Jacobi!” Jacobi gasped and backed up against the wall, staring at him with wide eyes.

“C-Colonel?” he curled up into a trembling ball, eyes red and hair wild, “Wh... What’s... What did I...?”

“Hi, Jacobi.” Kepler said cheerfully, “Still all murdery and shit?”

“What... happened?” he winced, loosening his grip on his hair just a tad, “Why do I feel so... lost?”

“You had quite the space adventure.” he said, making sure to keep his tone light, “Evil fungus bitch, hive minds, assimilation, crazy would-be relatives, quite a time.”

“Oh god I... I _attacked_ you, I... Colonel, that-that wasn’t me, I-“

“I know.” he said easily, “You were under the control of a psychotic little girl who yanked you around like a puppet on a string. You’re not to blame.” Jacobi stared at him, like any moment Kepler would press a gun to his head. Kepler sighed and lifted a hand, laying it gently on Jacobi’s leg. Jacobi gave him a look that made his heart tug a little bit, and he vowed privately to himself to _never_ let this man out of his sight again.

“You let them all die?” Jacobi broke the silence, his voice soft, “The crew. You left them there. You left them to her. For me?”

“You’re mine.” he said simply. It was not the delusion of a monster, but a fact of life, “Cutter informed me that the crew was expendable as long as I retrieved a sample of the fungus. It’s such a shame that you were the only survivor of that terrible tragedy, but it’s admirable that you managed alone. The entire crew was already dead when I got there.”

“But-“

“Right, Mister Jacobi?” he cut him off with a sharp smile, “I’m not misremembering, am I?”

“...No, sir.” he sighed, “The entire crew was already dead when you arrived. I was the only survivor.”

“And the ship was lost.” he nodded, “Engine fire, how inconvenient.”

“Engine fire.” he echoed, and Kepler squeezed his knee.

“Now. What happened again, Mister Jacobi?”

“The entire crew was killed by my... the alien child.” he replied dutifully, “I was the only survivor. The engine caught fire a little before you arrived and you were barely able to grab a sample and get me to safety in time before it blew.”

“Good man.” Kepler nodded approvingly, “Now you need to rest. The ship is on auto, we should be home in a few days.” Jacobi nodded, and Kepler softened almost imperceptibly, “How do you feel?”

“Bad.” he gave a weak laugh, “Exhausted and sore. She didn’t seem to realize that human bodies have limits, so we were always ‘playing.’ I can still feel remnants of her in my head. Whispering. It’s fading, thank god, but... I just can’t wait to be home.”

“We’ll get you home safe.” Kepler said softly, “For now, sleep. Rest up.”

“Yes sir.” he murmured, slowly laying back down. Kepler patted his leg and got up, mentally berating himself. He’d shown way too much weakness today. He needed to control himself better. Jacobi yawned and settled back into bed as Kepler turned and left the room, already preparing his report to Cutter in his head.

The lights of Jacobi’s room flickered unseen as the door shut behind him, and he let his eyes slide shut with a soft sigh.


End file.
